Nicely done... I got it. Don't have much time to spend in EK like earlier days buddy.. So Catch u later... Keep up the Good WorkzCexVe said:Oh you don't have to wait
http://www.adrive.com/public/0cef288887d4f7e1088051cca63222eb05f5d1ee571ec604d9db88f08763b685.html
The PDF version of 1.5.01.04.09
Thanks.
eranga_m said:This has become my bible when it comes to buying PC parts
Anyway how to find whether the panel type of a LCD monitor is TN/IPS/MVA/PVA? I went through almost all stalls in Unity Plaza in search for IPS and MVA panel type monitors but none of them indicated the panel type other than TFT.
.
zCexVe said:2.Motherboard
It is like choosing the right girl for you.
We have to get a mobo which supports our CPU, which in our scenario a Socket 775 for Intel and AM2+ for AMD.
If you wish to Overclock, get a mobo with OC options.
For a budget one get a mobo with all options onboard [Sound+LAN+VGA].Usually budget mobos too have OC options but only for CPU FSB.
2.1 Briefing of options they have
IMPORTANT!!
Chipset - Every mobo is built around a chipset mainly from NVIDIA, Intel, AMD. If you want a multi GPU platform with NVIDIA-SLi go for NVIDIA. For Crossfire/X go with Intel or AMD.
With Intel 5 series or higher you can have any multi GPU platform.
The mobos which are built around the same chipset feature the same basic options: CPU support, PCI-express lanes, Memory type and support, Onboard Audio,video,LAN(If have), Basic SATA and IDE Storage, USB and IEEE1394(If have).
Form Factor - The sizes of mobo.5 are available.
I.ATX-Advanced Technology Extended
II.mATX-mini Advanced Technology Extended
III.BTX- Balanced Technology Extended
IV.mBTX-mini Balanced Technology Extended
V.ITX-Ultra mini cool boards made by VIA.
First 2 are the most common options for us.ATX boards have much more space for additional cards and more options than the mini.
Memory -We have to use DDR2 supported mobos which all are.
Few DDR3 boards are around LK like MSI P35 Diamond, ASUS Maximus formula.
Expansion slots -
I.PCI-Peripheral Component Interconnect-Getting old but still used widely, more cards plug in here. Latest standard is 2.3.Usually mobos contain 2~5 of these slots. Every card plugs in here even VGAs with PCI interface.
II.PCIe- PCI Express - Newer and faster. Latest standard is V2.0.It is backwards compatible.
Note-The PCIe is full duplex (Can transfer data both ways at the same time) and each lane is 250MB/s.So we can combine lanes for more bandwidth. For example PCIe X16 is 250x16=4000MB/s.And since this is both ways more often it is mentioned as 8000MB/s.
And this standard is hot plug meaning you can remove cards while PC is on although I’ve never tried. :O
Usually there are 4 types of these ports.
i. PCIe X1-Tiny little slots. Few things go here.
ii.PCIe X4-Double size of X1.New TV, Sound and Network cards go here. More bandwidth.
iii.PCIe X8-Many of these are the same length as PCIe X16 so that VGAs can fit in there.
iv.PCIe X16-The Place for the VGAs.
v.PCIe X32-Not common. Almost none. But standard have it.
Rear panel ports- There is hell of a lot.
I.PS/2 – Purple for keyboard, green for mouse.
II.USB - v2.0 ports.4~10 can be found.
III.VGA - optional. For your monitor. All have 15 pin D-sub AKA analog video port.
IV.Analog sound - Mostly 3.In high-end 5/6.Comes in 6 colors. For analog audio output and input.
Green – Front out (2/2.1)
Black – Rear out (4/4.1)
Yellow – Center/subwoofer out (5.1)
Gray – Surround out (7.1)
Pink – Microphone
Blue – Line in
V.S/PDIF - Sony/Phillips Digital Interconnect Format - For digital audio. Optional.
VI.Optical out - Cool red lighted port for digital audio. Optional.
VII.IEEE1394 [firewire] - For cameras. Usually 1.Optional.
VIII.Serial [COM]-1 ~ 2.Rarely used.
IX.Parallel [Printer] - 0 or 1.Not used now. Only for Port programming if used.
X.LAN - 1 or 2.All are Gigabit Ethernet full duplex ports.
E-SATA - For external storage. Optional.
Onboard audio,video and LAN - All have OB sound and LAN. Both are now at separate purchased ones’ quality. Audio is in HD and LAN is in Gigabit Ethernet.
Video is still crappier and not in high end mobos. But great for budget builds.
Storage- Many mobos come with 1 or 2 EIDE ports, 2~8 SATAII ports.High end boards support RAID onboard. Some come with e-SATA.
RAID - Redundant Array of Independent Disks -There are many RAID standards from 0 to 10.I’ll tell you the most common.
i.RAID 0-A disk Striping scheme.Need at least two disks.Used for high performance of same specs.
ii.RAID1-Disk mirroring scheme.Used for the safety of data.Need at least two disks of same specs.
iii.RAID 0+1-Striping+mirroring.Safe while having performance.Needs at least 4 disks of same specs.
iv.RAID5-Data parity.Used in Enterprises.At least three disks are required.
v.JBOD-Just a Bunch Of Disks.Will show the fitted HDDs as one drive.So you can even use all HDDs as one logical drive.
You have to first setup RAID then install windows.RAID must first be enabled from BIOS then install drivers in Windows.All RAID drivers unfortunately come in floppy drives
OverClocking - w000000t!!!! My favourite. Running things over the rated specs.More performance, more fun. Needs a board that has BIOS options for Overclocking. These comes with extra price.
2.3 Tips & what to buy
Choose according to your budget
For Intel
Low end--------------------------------------------------------
Intel G31/P31
Mid range-------------------------------------------------------
Intel G33,P33
NVIDIA 650i
High end--------------------------------------------------------
Intel P35,P45,X38,X48
NVIDIA 680i SLI,780i SLI
For AMD
Low end-----------------------------------------------------
VIA P4M890M
High end--------------------------------------------------------
AMD 770FX,780FX,790FX
Tips
Better to have an Intel chipset for Intel, AMD for AMD. NVIDIA is luxurious.
The difference is mobo makers add extra features and hardware and software into the package. So basically select the chipset for you then get to know what you get additionally for the money you pay.
I am unable to tell you which mobos are good but I’ll tell you the brands.
Bad-Mercury,PCchips
Good-Foxconn,ECS,Biostar
Great-ASUS,MSI,GigaByte
Budget range- Foxconn G31MX-K,Gigabyte G31-S2L,MSI V series,ECS boards
Mid range- Gigabyte/Foxconn G33 mobo
High-end - Foxconn Mars,Gigabyte P35 DS3 series, ASUS P5B-E
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. VGA – Video card
VGAs are the most expensive part of a PC.This is required for better graphics, namely for gaming and 3D works.There are two main categories; ATI Radeon and nVIDIA GeForce.Lets get to know their basics.
3.1 Understanding the terms
GPU core -This is the MOST important thing which processes the graphics. Better the core better the graphics. They usually have codenames and marketing names.
GeForce uses G84,G86,G92 etc. ATI Radeon uses R770,R630,R770 LE etc.
All VGA are named with the marketing number of core + some gimmick with OEM.
GPU core clock - The clock which GPU runs. Higher is better.
Memory clock - The clock which the VGA buffer memory runs. Higher is better.
Shader clock - The clock shaders run in a DX10 card. Higher is better.
DX9 shaders -There are two types. The pixel shaders apply colors, texture and other attributes to pixels within the image. The vertex shaders create the look of the objects. More pixel shaders and vertex shaders you have, the better the card is.
DX10 Shaders - Here we have Unified shaders which can do both according to the situation. More is better. But don’t compare with the total shaders of a DX9 card and the shaders of a DX10 card.
Texture Mapping Units (TMUs) – This units apply texture operations to pixels.
Raster Operation Units (ROPs) – This writes pixel data into memory. This rate is called the Fillrate. Usually indicates the bandwidth.
Fillrate – There are two. Pixel and Texture.
Pixel Fillrate=ROP x GPU core clock .Total pixels VGA can output.
Texture fill rate=TMU x GPU Core clock (or in NVIDIA way pixel pipeline x TMU)
Pipeline – This term is not exactly valid now. A pipeline is Pixel Shader + TMU.
VGA memory - Used to buffer the frames, textures etc.
This is not so important!!This is exaggerated by the idiots round the country. NOT SO IMPORTANT!!!
VGA memory type - Current are GDDR2,GDDR3,GDDR4,GDDR5.Higher the better and lower power consumption. In general higher the clock and the GDDRX, the better they perform.
SLI/CrossfireX - These are multi GPU setups. SLi is from NVIDIA, Crossfire-X is from ATI.
Used to gain more power to process the graphics. We can have 2,3 or 4 VGAs combined to have more power. This is a waste of money in my point of view. Remember performance doesn’t increase twice if you plug in two VGAs. With crossfireX and 3way SLI you can plug in any VGA with SLI/crossfire support.
BUT REMEMBER it is better to be from same OEM and identical. You need to have a compatible mobo to have one of these multi GPU setups.
PhysX – It is by NVIDIA to improve the AI of the graphics or more importantly games. It processes the Physics calculations regarding to the graphics. Do not improve the performance or frame rate but the realistic quality.
Under Windows XP or 7 you can use a NVIDIA card for the physX even with ATI cards for graphics. This is just a touch on it.
3.2 Chipset briefing
In order of performance
Low end--------------------------------------------------------------
NVIDIA GeForce 7300LE
NVIDIA GeForce 7300GT, 8400GS
ATI-HD 2400, HD3450
Mid range-----------------------------------------------------------
NVIDIA-GeForce 8500GT,
ATI HD 2650/3650
NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT
NVIDIA GeForce 9600GT
High end-----------Gaming-----------------------------------------
ATI HD3850
ATI HD3870
NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT (G92)
ATI HD 4850
ATI HD4870
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260
3.3 Tips & what to buy------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Don’t get a low end. t is useless to have a one. se Onboard.
- For a resolution of 1024 x 768 128 MB is enough. Up to 1280x1024 256 MB is enough.512 MB can hold up to 24” displays.
- Good brands are ASUS,Sapphire,e-VGA,Gigabyte,MSI,Inno3D.
- We have to buy a PCI express VGA as it’s the one we have now.Also almost all VGAs come in DVI and VGA ports or converters for VGA so no need to worry about the display type.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. RAM – Random Access Memory
These sticks memorize things which CPU needs to access not so often. Slower than L2/L3.Dropped in price lately, which made many manufacturers quit or form joint ventures, it keeps favoring us. You can have up to 16Gb in a desktop these days.
4.1 Basics
RAMs have two names. By their Memory bandwidth or DDR frequency.(DDR-Double Data Rate). For example a DDR2667 RAM is also mentioned as PC5300.This means the RAM actually runs at 667/2=333.3 MHz. Same as said by PC5300.
To get the theoretical max bandwidth we have to multiply the actual speed by 0.16.
So 333.3 x 0.16=53.33 GB/s=PC 5300.FYI The bandwidth is the same of L2 cache of CPU and the RAM.
Other than Capacity and Speed The most important thing RAMs have is timings.
RAM Timings
RAMs have timings because they work like the wheels in a mechanical clock.These RAM timings determine how to work with bits stored in RAM.
The timings are usually said in 5 figures with dashes.Most often the last one is dropped as it is not much important.
Ex.5-5-5-15-1T
5+5+5=15 but how can 5-5-5=15? Do not get confused.
Here is how to decode it.
They are in order of tCL-tRCD-tRP-tRAS-CPC
tCL-CAS Latency time - CAS means Column Address Strobe. TCL sends data from the memory controller, has it read to the memory location, and output to the modules output pins.
OMG what is that?Okay ,easy way….The amount of clock cycles it will take the memory to respond to an operation request ( time between the sending a read command and the time the first piece of output is available). Lower the CAS Latency, the faster the RAM .Remeber lower this is much better than lowered others and more expensive the RAM will be.
tRCD-RAS to CAS Delay time -Means Row Address Strobe to Column Address Strobe Delay time. This means the amount of clocks it takes between issuing the active command ,the read or write command.Lower the better.
tRP-Row Precharge time -Represents amont of clocks RAM is powered to read write the active commands to the memory.Lower is better.
tRAS-min RAS Active time -Represents the amount of time taken between a row being accessed and deactivated.
NOTE-A tRAS row must be allowed to complete before being deactivated. An error will occur with the memory and system will be unstable if this receiving and executing collapsed.
Tip-This is usually calculated by adding the CAS + tRCD + tRP .Because if a command is being executed, another cannot be retrieved in RAM. Lower is better.
CPC- Command Per Clock -This is not much important. Two options are available.1T,2T.For higher memory Capacities 2T is used.
Let’s get physical: D
Some RAMS have heat spreaders, lights(Crucial Ballistix tracers),RAM load meters (Corsair tracers)etc.Needless to say these are bit expensive and they are better.You can choose in many colors and patterns.Choose them to your likeness.
